Torpedo-guard.



ODYSSEUS PILALIS, OF PITTSBURGH, EENNSYLVANIA.

TORPEDO-GUARD.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OoYssnUs PILALIS, a subject of the King of Greece, residing at Pittsburgl1,in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Torpedo- Guards, of which the following is a speci fication.

This invention relates to torpedo guards, and it relates especially to an improved torpedo catcher to be carried by a ship, for protection of the latter against the assault of traveling torpedoes.

One object of this invention is to provide means whereby a torpedo is intercepted. and automatically raised from the water by the relative movement of the ship and the water in which the ship is traveling.

Another object is to provide a device of this character that is shiftable up and down so as to be out of contact with the water when the ship is out of danger of being torpedoed, and is in contact with the water when the ship is in the danger zone.

Another object is to provide for causing the torpedo to explode in the event it forces it way beyond a certain limit into the meshes of the catcher.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent to persons who read the following details of description in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a view, in elevation, of one of the units of the series of devices that constitute the preferred form of my invention, the same being shown in connection with a ship of which only a fragment is here illustrated.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the duplex wheels and the movable support thereof, a part of the netting of each wheel being omitted for the sake of clearness, the

broken lines illustrating the relative position of other wheels of this type; and

Fig. 3 is a radial sectional view of a modified form of one unit of the invention, consisting of only a single wheel or net and its movable support.

Referring to these drawingsv in detail, in which similar reference characters correspond with similar parts in the several views,-a fragment of a ship, on which the deyice is mounted, is represented by the letter A. A shaft 10 is mounted at its inner end on the ship and projects outwardly therefrom. and is adapted to have a rotary Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 2'7, 1918.

Application filed December 13, 1917. Serial No. 206,953.

movement imparted thereto. The shaft 10 may be rotated by any appropriate means, and as one means for effecting the necessary rotation of the shaft, I have shown a Wheel 11 which is secured to the shaft and may be rotated by any preferred form of power 15 by means of rods or struts 16 as well as by the axle 13 so that a unitary wheel structure is obtained. The wheels 14 and 15 are each provided with a netting structure of metal cables, rods or bars; the meshes of the inner netting being so small as to prevent the passage of a torpedo therethrough, while the meshes of the outer netting are somewhat larger, so that a torpedo may force its way thereinto by spreading the sides of the mesh. The space between the wheels let and 15 is equal to approximately one half the length of an ordinary traveling torpedo, so that the latter will be nearly half way through the outer wheels netting before it is stopped by the inner wheels netting. It will be seen, therefore, that the torpedo is stopped, by the outer netting, but'should it pass the outer netting it will encounter the inner netting, and the combined action of the inner and outer netting is calculated to prevent the torpedo reaching the hull of the vessel and doing damage. The netting may be secured to the rims of the respective wheels by any preferred means, and the rim of the outer wheel may be secured to the axle 18 either by means of its netting or by any ap propriate means.

The innerwheel is provided with spokes 17 which are concentrated at and secured to a hub 18, and their outer ends are bent or turned so as to extend parallel with the axle of the wheels, the parallel portions forming means for securing the wheel 15 to the wheel 14 and for securing the rim of the latter to its spokes 17 Upon the bent or angular portion of each spoke 17 is secured a plate or paddle 19, of sheet metal or other sheet material, which paddles are adapted to rotate the wheels 14:

and 15 as the ship carries them along in contact with the water.

It will be seen, therefore, that when a torpedo strikes and becomes engaged with the meshes of the wheel or wheels, the rotation of the wheels raises the torpedo above water, and if an explosion takes place, it is likely to take place above the surface of the water, so that the damage is reduced .to the minimum.

Although I have described a single duplex wheel and its adjuncts, it is to be understood thatany convenient number of such devices may be employed on a ship, and that the operating wheels thereof may be so .connected as to be operable by a single main operating device (not shown).

In the modified construction shown in Fig. 3, I eliminate the outer wheel. .This has the advantage of comparative lightness and cheapness, but lacks the advantages of capturing the torpedoes, being effective only for deflecting them qlromtheir course or causing their explosion away from the ship.

\Vhether the duplex wheel or the single wheel be employed, a series of the devices or units are arranged with their wheels in lapped relation, as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 2.

Although I have described these embodiments of my invention in minute detail, I do not limit my invention to these exact details, but my invention is susceptible of such changes that do not constitute a departure from the inventive ideas disclosed in the foregoing and in the appended claims.

iVhat I claim as my invention is 1. Means for protecting ships from torpedo attack, comprising a shaft mounted on the ship and extending outwardly therefrom,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for an arm )ro'ectin radiall from the outer end of the shaft, and a guard at the outer the ship and extending outwardly there-' from, a pair of arms secured to the outer end of the shaft and extending radially therefrom, an axle connecting the outer ends of the arms, and a rotary guard mounted on the axle and adapted to be raised or lowered bodily by rotating the said shaft.

A torpedo guard, comprising ahub, spokes radiating from the hub and having their outer ends bent laterally, and a netting supported by tlie bent ends of the Spokes.

4. A torpedo guard, comprising a hub, spokes radiating from the hub and having their outer ends bent laterally, a netting supported by the spokes, and paddles attached to the spokes and the bent ends thereof and extending across the angles formed between them.

5. A torpedo guard, comprising a hub. spokes radiating from the hub and having their outer ends bent laterally, a netting supported at the outer extremities of the bent ends, and a second netting supported by the said bent ends of the spokes at a point between the spokes and the first mentioned netting.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SOTERIOS NICHOLSON, Tr noro ns THEOS.

Washington. 1). C." 

